


Tranquil as a Forest

by coldfusion9797



Series: Find Your Centre [2]
Category: Disney - All Media Types, Mulan (1998)
Genre: F/M, Healing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 12:05:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17446640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coldfusion9797/pseuds/coldfusion9797
Summary: Shang reconsiders his opinion of Mulan.





	Tranquil as a Forest

Witnessing Mulan fight, seeing her use her wits and unbreakable courage to defeat Shan-Yu, Shang had seen that so much of Ping still lived. The emperor's words echoed in his head... _You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty..._ It was true. Maybe the reason he'd never been attracted to women was because he'd never met the right one. What if Mulan was the one he'd been waiting for? Sent by the ancestors in the guise of a man to teach him that true regard, appreciation and even love was more than skin deep. And there were obvious benefits to having a wife. He'd like a son, she could give him that. Either way, he had to know.

He had her helmet tucked under his arm. A poor excuse to see her again, but a reason nonetheless.

He found her under a cherry tree with her father. What she'd done she'd done for him, Shang could respect that. Loyalty was an admirable quality.

He stumbled over his words and eventually it was settled he'd stay for dinner. Mulan's family went to prepare the meal, leaving the two of them alone. He knew what they would expect. Mulan was a war hero and any man would be lucky to have her. If that turned out to be him, they couldn't build a life on deception.

"Mulan..." he ventured, the name still felt strange on his tongue when Ping's eyes looked up at him from her face. "Before we go inside, can we talk?"

"As long as we don't keep father waiting too long for his meal," she smiled.

As always, Shang struggled to find words when he was nervous.

"I... That is... I, um, I don't know how to say this delicately..."

"So don't. Whatever's on your mind, you can tell me."

He gave her a wane yet grateful smile, appreciative of Ping's direct and earnest approach.

"I can, can't I? We've been through a lot together."

"We've seen things that bind people irrevocably."

"The horrors of war."

"Yes."

For a moment they both fell into silence, taken back to the burned village in the Tung Shao pass. And for Shang to a moment of solidarity, grief stricken but not alone, when he'd realised what Ping meant to him.

"I was in love with Ping."

Her gaze never wavered and he realised she'd already known this. She wasn't angry or shocked, if anything it was pity he saw on her face.

"Ping wasn't real," she said softly.

"To me he was."

Shang sighed and sat down, wondering if he could go through with this. It was Ping he really wanted. The brave and reckless young man that was so unlike anyone else he had ever met.

Mulan took a seat next to him, sitting firm and steady by his side.

"Oh. I'm sorry." She laid a hand on his shoulder, mirroring the last time they had shared grief. Despite her initial deception, he had to admit she was the best woman he'd ever known. She was clever, brave and loyal. She understood the gravity of her actions, yet she still acted upon the advice of her heart. She was unafraid to follow the difficult path. "I lost someone too."

Pulled from his contemplations, he looked at her questioningly.

"A man I loved. That I still love. I'd have followed him anywhere, done anything for him, and I did, but he lost faith in me because I lied to him."

He realised she was talking about him. That he had the power to make her happy and that he wanted to do that. For the hero of China and for the girl who had risked everything to protect her family. They needn't both suffer.

"Haven't I come back to you now?"

"Yes," she smiled, finally showing a hint of vulnerability in her impenetrable emotional armour. Tears glistened in her eyes.

"I was thinking I could stay for a while. See if we could try to make it work. It was Ping's fearlessness that I loved most."

"As I said," she reiterated, sliding her battle-worn hand over his, "I'd do anything for the man I love."


End file.
